


Starting Over

by QueenAlien94



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Drama, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:55:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24644434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenAlien94/pseuds/QueenAlien94
Summary: After 20 years of marriage, Rhett's marriage is over. He wasn't looking for anything new but, Hell, he found it.
Relationships: Christy Neal/Link Neal, Link Neal/Original Female Character(s), Rhett McLaughlin/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	1. Man Giant

“He’s a man giant.”

“Nah, he’s just a fucking giant.”

“He’s _also_ exactly your type.”

Shelley looked over at the guy sat in the corner of Starbucks, talking quietly on his phone with an…

Iced tea?

Seemed kind of out of place for a tall, chunky guy with a thick mane of wavy hair and an even thicker beard.

“Well, I mean-” Shelley started as they turned back towards the counter as they waited for their coffees.

“He’s even wearing a brown leather jacket!” Sina teased, earning herself a decent eye roll.

“What the fuck has that got to do with anything?”

“That’s quite an older, stylish man thing to wear, isn’t it?”

“I think it’s just a thing for a guy who’s forty and doesn’t want to accept it.” Shelley and Sina shared a wide-eye-rabbit-caught-in-headlights look and, just like a cartoon, they turned slowly to see Chunky Hairy Man right behind them.

“Oh. Hello.” Shelley froze as she looked up at him.

He really _was_ a fucking giant.

Like a tree.

Damn, she would climb him like a-

“Oh, look at that, my mum’s calling me. I gotta take this, why don’t you keep her company for a sec? Bye!” Shelley didn’t even have a chance to shoot Sina the death stare as she grabbed her (totally _not ringing_ ) phone out of her pocket and all but ran outside.

Leaving Shelley with Chunky Hairy Man.

“Well, uh, you look like you’re just about on your way so-” Shelley awkwardly gestured, trying to make it clear that she was most certainly _not_ desperate for him to stay.

“Oh, no, I was just getting another, uh…can I get a peach citrus iced tea? Make it a Venti?” Hmm. An American accent. Suddenly, Chunky Hairy Man became a lot less attractive.

He went from a 10 to a 9.5.

“Coming?” He asked as he headed back to his table. Shelley had to stop herself from all but skipping over to join him.

Although, she did have to jog to keep up with him. He was such a mountain of a man that while he could clear the room in two steps, it took her around thirty.

“Y’know, you really don’t need to keep me company.” Even as she spoke, Shelley was kicking herself. Why on Earth was she trying to give this God of a man an excuse to leave?!

“Back home in Texas, we don’t leave girls to drink their coffee alone.”

Ah, Southern charm.

“You’re from Texas?”

“Well, no, North Carolina but you Brits have never heard of it.”

“Uh, _excuse me_ , of course I’ve heard of it! Columbia is the capital!”

“That’s South Carolina but close enough,” He laughed. Well. No, he didn’t laugh. He did that charming, confident older man chuckle that did something quite bizarre to her ovaries.

The Southern twang certainly helped.

Yep, definitely back up to a solid 10.

“I’m Rhett, by the way.”

Rhett, huh? Didn’t quite have the ring of Chunky Hairy Man, but it did suit him.

“I’m Shelley.”

“That’s a pretty name.”

“I bet you say that to all the girls…” She trailed off as she noticed the tan line on his finger ( _damn_ , he had big hands!), clearly from a ring that had been there for a long time.

Divorced or a cheat?

_Did it really matter?_

“Does your friend often have very long calls with her mom?” Rhett said quietly as he leaned in, a hand slipping onto her thigh.

“Yes,” She murmured, unable to resist licking her lips, “They often last hours and hours.”

“I’m staying at the Marriott across the road.”

“Let’s go.”

As they headed inside the hotel, Rhett took Shelley’s hand in his and _Jesus Christ_ , she started to feel like she was being led to bed by an actual giant.

Not that she was complaining, of course.

The way he was straight to the point, no fucking around and acted with such confidence and a flair of sophistication? She was wet already.

Shelley expected Rhett to take her in his arms the second the hotel room door closed behind them. She expected him to pin her against the wall and just start fucking her, both of them still fully clothed.

Instead, he seemed to lose a bit of that confidence he’d thrown around. Despite the fact that they only met about ten minutes ago and he had no qualms about actually taking her to his hotel room, Rhett didn’t actually seem to know what to do once they were behind closed doors. He sort of awkwardly kicked off his shoes, shrugged off his jacket and ran a hand through his hair without meeting her eye.

Huh. Maybe he was actually divorced.

“Why don’t you sit down and I’ll make us a drink?” Taking the subject away from sex seemed to lift a weight off Rhett’s shoulders and he sat on the edge of his bed with a sigh of relief he tried to hide as Shelley went over to the mini bar. Taking out a small bottle of gin and another of tonic, she poured them both out a drink.

Setting her own drink down on the bedside table, she sat on the bed behind Rhett – _fucking hell he is actually colossal_ – and started massaging his shoulders, grinning to herself when he started groaning therapeutically.

“Is that good?” She asked, leaning in to murmur against his neck.

“God, that feels really good,” Rhett dropped his head forward as she started kissing him and it wasn’t long before she simply couldn’t resist trailing her hands down from him back around his chest and down to his thick thighs. Sensing no resistance, Shelley unzipped his jeans and as she reached into his pants, she prayed that he wouldn’t freak out.

“Oh, fuck…” With Rhett’s groan, Shelley breathed a silent sigh of relief as she started slowly stroking his thick, hard cock. As she touched him, and his breathing got deeper, her panties only got wetter.

Nope, that was it, she was going to _have_ to taste him.

Getting up off the bed, she stood in front of him (and yet, somehow she was still shorter than him?) and peeled off her shirt. She couldn’t help feeling rather self satisfied as he swallowed hard at the sight of her breasts barely encased in a black and pink plunge bra that was slightly too small. He seemed almost paralysed into place as she reached around to unhook it and let it fall to the ground.

But then Rhett gently grabbed her waist and pulled her in for a long, soft, passionate kiss.

Pulling away from his lips was compensated only by the fact that, within 10 seconds, Shelley was down on her knees and dragging her tongue up his shaft.

“What are you-” Rhett started but she cut him off by sucking the head on his cock between her lips. She looked up at him with wide eyes, sucking him deeper into her mouth as she watched his blissed out, disbelieving face. His groans were quiet, almost shy but, gradually, he seemed to grow in comfort and confidence.

Rhett tenderly started stroking her hair, gently encouraging her as she tasted him.

“ _Fuck_!” His outburst rushed out as if he’d been desperately holding in inside and couldn’t for a moment longer. Not that she could blame him; she was sucking him deeper and harder and when he started rocking his hips, thrusting slowly, she certainly couldn’t stay silent.

She cupped her breasts, pinching her nipples as she moaned around his cock.

As her fingers trailed down her body to her panties, unable to resist running her fingers along her slit, feeling just how wet she was, Rhett took the opportunity to reach down and squeeze her tits.

“Fuck, ok, you’re gonna have to stand up.”

Giggling, Shelley took Rhett’s hand and got to her feet, smiling as he leaned down, pressing his lips against hers as he wrapped her in his arms and effortlessly picked her up, lying her down on the bed.

“Oh…fuck, Rhett…” She moaned loudly as he gripped her soft thighs and firmly spread her legs wide, leaning down to lick along her slit, finally getting a taste of just how desperate she was for him. He tasted her slowly, circling her clit before dipping down again. Sensing that he might need a little encouragement, she weaved her fingers through his thick, long wavy hair, groaning as his rough, coarse beard rubbed against her.

“Like that?” Rhett asked as he looked up and slid two fingers inside her, his question being answered as Shelley arched her back and cried out loud, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“God…Rhett, come here,” Shelley gasped out, pulling on his arms, coaxing him up. With his thick beard tickling her skin, he kissed up her body. He kissed softly across her stomach and up to her breasts, pausing to suck on her tight nipples before moving to her lips, capturing them in a deep kiss. He cradled her face in his large hands, absolutely dwarfing her as he hovered above her.

“Oh…” The pair of them gasped in unison as Rhett pushed the head of his thick cock inside her. Shelley pulled off his shirt, wrapping her arms around his back, drawing him in as he sank himself inside her slowly, inch by inch until he filled her completely.

With one large hand bending her thigh back and the other squeezing her tits, Rhett wasted no time at all inching out and thrusting back deep inside her. Loud groans and even louder moans filled the air as their hips smacked together. She clinged to him, her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist as he started fucking her harder.

Rhett’s hair fell into her face as his kisses became harsher and her grip on her became harder. The noises Shelley needed to cry out kept getting caught in her throat as she dug her nails into his back, making him wince but he didn’t particularly seem to care.

With a deep, breathless sigh, Rhett kissed her and gave Shelley’s thigh a playful swat.

“Bend over.”

Obeying with a giggle, Shelley did what she was told and bent over for him, her ass in the air. She barely had a chance to catch her breath when he gripped her hips and sank right back inside her. He smacked her round ass hard as he pounded inside her, sending bolts of electricity straight to her already swollen, throbbing clit and just as her hand slid down her body, he beat her to it.

“Is that what you wanted? Hmm?” He growled into her ear as he leaned over her, his hair grazing the back of her neck as he fucked her slower, but so much deeper and harder with every thrust.

“Rhett…” Shelley whimpered, impressed with herself that she was able to get any words out at all, “Rhett…I’m gonna… _fuck_!” She grinded wildly back against him, squeezing around his cock as he gripped her tits and pulled her up, her back flush against his chest.

_God, he was so massive, she really did feel like a-_

“Good girl,” He rasped in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her, his fingers still rubbing her clit so hard that she was close to-

“Ohhh!” She cried out, held up only by his arms. Her head dropped back against his chest. Her pussy grinded back against his cock. She could practically _feel_ her juices dripping down her thighs as she came so hard she was sure was would pass out.

So lost in the clouds she was that she barely registered when he held her so tightly and came deep inside her.

When Rhett and Shelley had collapsed together on the bed, trying their level best to catch their breaths, he turned towards her.

“Do you think your friend is done with her call yet?”


	2. I Have To Go

“I have to go.”

“Why?”

“Because my flight is in three hours and it takes an hour to get to the airport?”

“Why?”

“Because I have to get a taxi there and I can’t fly.”

“Why?”

“Y’know what, I don’t know enough about evolution to answer that question,” Rhett grinned, leaning down to kiss her softly.

“Can’t you stay a little longer?” Shelley asked, unbuttoning Rhett’s shirt to slip a hand inside, “Please?”

“I can’t, you know I wish I could but I have to get back to work.”

“And you’re sure you haven’t got time for-”

“No, baby, I’m sorry,” Rhett cradled her face in his hands, leaning down to press another kiss on her lips, “I’m not sure I’d be able to even if I did, you’ve totally worn me out over the last few days,” He smirked, stroking her hair affectionately.

It wasn’t long until Rhett was riding away in his Uber and Shelley was just standing outside the Marriott, looking after it wistfully. Maybe it was ridiculous but after spending the last seven days together constantly in each other’s company, she couldn’t help but wish that he lived here, in the UK. They seemed to have some kind of connection where they understood each other and she couldn’t believe that she was watching him fly halfway across the world back home.

“Are you ok?”

“Me? Yeah, of course! No big deal, just a fling, right?”

“Oh, sure, you ditched me for just a fling for like the whole of our trip,” Sina rolled her eyes, shaking her head as they sat on their hotel room balcony.

“I thought you were cool with that?!” Shelley protested, indignant.

“I _was_ cool with it! Because it was _not_ just a fling! You two were obviously crazy about each other! You think I would have been cool with you ditching me for a fling? Uh no!”

“Well, it doesn’t matter now anyway because he’s gone. He’s gone back to Texas and I’ll never see him again!”

“I thought he was from North Carolina?”

“ _Does it matter?_ ”

“So, it was ‘just a fling’ huh? Never seen you get this irritated about a fling before.”

“I’m not _irritated_!”

“Uh huh, sure.”

The pair of them sat in silence for a moment, eating the pizza they’d ordered and opening a fresh pack of cigarettes once they were finished.

The peaceful quiet was only broken by Shelley’s phone violently vibrating on the table.

“Is that him? Is that Rhett?!”

“Oh, I hardly think-”

“It _is_ , isn’t it? Let me see!”

_Just about to board, I’ll call you when I land. Rhett x_

“HE’S GOING TO CALL YOU WHEN HE LANDS?!”

“Oh, stop.”

With their week’s trip to London having been severely interrupted by Shelley’s fling – _yes, fling_ – with Rhett, the pair of them were feeling really quite deflated when they went to check out of their hotel the following morning. She had had her phone call with Rhett the night before once he’d landed back in America but what with the call coming at four in the morning, she had fallen asleep on him.

“Oh, you guys are actually booked in for another five days?” Shelley and Sina both simultaneously frowned at the receptionist.

“What? No, we’re meant to check out today.”

“Yes, I can see that your original stay was until today but another five days were booked and paid for yesterday.”

“No, we-”

“Who paid for it?!” Sina interrupted Shelley’s protests excitedly.

“Um…the system says it was paid for by a…R McLaughlin,” Shelley turned in time to see Sina probably about to scream when the receptionist (thankfully) stopped it in its tracks, “Oh no wait, no, we do need you to check out…looks like he upgraded you guys…yes, you’re now in room 912 on the top floor.”

In something of a daze, the girls took their new key and headed back upstairs. The room they had been staying in was pretty nice – the two of them had uncharacteristically splashed out on a room with a balcony, mini bar and two king sized beds.

But this new room…was another level.

“Oh my God!” The pair squealed in unison as they opened the door.

There was a separate living room, two bedrooms and a bathroom nearly the size of the whole of their other hotel room.

“There’s a Jacuzzi on the balcony!” Sina shrieked as she yanked back the curtains to display a balcony twice the size of their previous one with a black wicker sofa and indeed, their was a Jacuzzi.

“This is insane, what the Hell?!” Shelley looked around, stunned as she stood in the middle of by far the fanciest hotel suite she had ever seen.

“Call him! Call him!” Sina cried out, clapping her hands excitedly.

This time, Shelley didn’t need to be prompted. She pulled out her phone and called Rhett, putting him on speakerphone.

_“Well, hello there.”_

“RHETT, WHAT THE HELL?!”

_“Is that a happy ‘what the Hell’?”_

“Well, duh!” Sina cried, causing Rhett to chuckle at the other end of the line.

“You paid for us to spend another few days in London in this fancy hotel room?! Why?”

_“You guys were supposed to spend the week together and I interrupted that. So, I thought I’d make it up to you both.”_

“Aww,” Sina cooed, hands over her heart, “That’s so sweet!”

“Rhett, this room must have cost you a bomb! Are you sure-”

_“Shelley. Don’t worry about it.”_

“But-”

_“Don’t worry about it. It’s not a big deal. I’m just happy you guys like it. Listen, I gotta go to work. I’ll speak to you later, baby.”_

When Shelley ended the call with Rhett, she looked up to see Sina staring at her with a wide grin on her face.

“What?”

“You’ve met your soul mate, that’s what.”

“Oh, stop.”

“Shell, he is _literally_ treating you like a Princess and he’s not even in the country!”

Sina wasn’t wrong, there. This was a penthouse suite. In the centre of London. Booked and paid for at the drop of a hat. It must have cost Rhett an actual arm and leg. Possibly a kidney or two, too. Throughout the past few days they had discussed what they did for a living and while Shelley had told him all about what she did – not that it was exactly riveting, but he seemed to find it interesting for some reason – he hadn’t really said much except that he ‘worked in television and media’. Which, let’s face it, could mean just about anything.

Was he minted or was he just a reckless spender?

Rhett certainly didn’t seem like the type to be a reckless spender. Which begged the question… _what exactly did he do?_

“This is amazing,” Sina sighed as the pair of them lit another cigarette. She poured herself another gin and tonic from the free bar and Shelley another – extremely weak – vodka and cranberry.

“Listen, I’m sorry I ditched you for Rhett. Like, this was supposed to be our week of exploring London and having a fun trip and-”

“Look,” Sina interrupted Shelley, “If you had ditched me for some random guy, yeah, I’d have been pissed. Really pissed. But your connection was so obvious from the second you both laid eyes on each other, I couldn’t be.”

“Yeah, but, what were you even doing with yourself? I mean, it must have been a pretty shitty week.”

“Well, yeah, it would have been if Rhett hadn’t given me so much to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, I’ve had a great time! Been to a couple of shows, went to a few fancy restaurants, went on the London Eye and to an aquarium and a few museums. Even went shopping in Oxford Street! All courtesy of Rhett!” Sina laughed as she took a sip of her drink, “Obviously it would have been better with you but…yeah, he spent a lot of money on me over the last few days. He must have felt bad. You have got yourself a real amazing guy there.”


	3. Duh

_“Hi baby.”_

“God, I’ve missed hearing your voice,” Shelley couldn’t help but flash a wide smile as Rhett popped up on her phone. Still lying in bed, his hair was wild. She was about to admonish him for still lying in bed when she got in from work at 6pm but she caught herself. It was easy to forget that he was actually only 10am in Los Angeles.

 _“We only spoke last night!”_ Well. That morning, to her.

“Yeah but after a day of having people shout at me down the phone, I _love_ hearing your voice. It’s so calming.”

 _“Y’all think this is calmin’, darlin’?”_ Rhett grinned as he put on a slightly high pitched, incredibly stereotypical, strong southern American accent.

“I know you’re trying to make me cringe, but it’s actually kinda sexy when you put on that ridiculous voice,” Shelley giggled as Rhett just looked at her like she was crazy, his eyebrows furrowed.

_“Sexy?”_

“Yeah!”

 _“You know that’s my normal voice, right?”_ Now it was Shelley’s turn to look at Rhett like he was crazy.

“What? That’s not your normal voice!”

_“It was when I lived in North Carolina. Moving to LA really mellows your accent, believe me. You know, when I first moved to California…”_

With tired eyes, Shelley smiled as she listened intently to Rhett talk about his move from his hometown in the American bible belt to one of the most liberal places on Earth. It really was quite fascinating to listen to and he was quite an entertaining storyteller, making even mundane tales sound charming.

 _“Anyway, listen, I’m thinking of coming to visit you next month. Would…would you be ok with that?”_ Rhett’s out of the blue announcement stunned Shelley into temporary silence. It had been a month since they had met in London and while the pair of them had been talking pretty much every day since then, she had begrudgingly accepted that it was unlikely that they were going to meet again.

“You’re joking?”

_“Um. No?”_

“So, you’re coming? Next month? Really?!”

_“Well, if you want me to.”_

“Are you insane? Of course I want you to!”

For the next hour – or three – they chatted as Rhett booked a flight to London, Heathrow just four weeks away and Shelley got busy organising time off work.

“Oh, we’ll have to go up to the Brecon Beacons. There’s loads of hiking and secluded beauty spots – you can even stay in wooden lodges, with no one around for miles.”

 _“Miles, huh?”_ Rhett smirked, _“So, no one will be able to hear you scream, you mean?”_

“Why would I be screaming?” Shelley teased, “We don’t have any bears or snakes, y’know.”

_“Now, you know that’s not what I meant, sweetheart.”_

What with Rhett living quite literally halfway around the world, they had had to find a way to be intimate without actually being intimate. Sure, phone sex was great but sometimes, it just wasn’t enough and they had found themselves getting creative. Skype, of course, was amazing but even better was a vibrator Rhett had sent to her. It was pretty thick, curved and silicone, just as Shelley liked but, even better, it could be controlled by an app on Rhett’s phone.

_“Right, Shelley, listen, I have to go pick up Shep and Locke.”_

“Oh, of course, yeah. You’re having them overnight tonight, right?”

_“Yeah. We’ll probably get takeout and I’ll let them stay up later so I probably won’t speak to you later. Is that ok?”_

“Don’t be silly, of course, that’s fine! You must be super excited to see them!”

They said their goodbyes and hung up their call, leaving Shelley lying on her bed with a dopey smile on her face. She could not believe that Rhett was actually coming to visit her! They had only met a month earlier and already he wanted to come and visit her – that had to be a good sign, right?

Was she insane? _Obviously it was a fucking good sign._

Over the past few weeks, she had become entirely enamoured with Rhett. She had come to, quite literally, plan her entire day around him. She woke up in the morning at 6am to say good night to him before she went to work and he went to bed. She came home from work at 6pm to say good morning to him and then she called him before she went to bed, typically just as he was eating lunch. She thought about him pretty much all day, every day and he was all she could possibly talk about, probably irritating everyone around her no end.

When Shelley met Rhett in London, he hadn’t talked about his family situation at all but since they had been talking, he had told her all about his ex-wife and children. Rhett had been with Jessie since he was nineteen and they were married for twenty years before they had separated a year earlier. Their divorce wasn’t yet finalised but he said they were still on good terms, sharing custody of their sons, Shepard and Locke.

It was incredibly endearing to hear Rhett speak about his boys. He was so proud of them and everything they did; when Locke got an A in a test or Shepard ran a new personal best in gym class, he would always mention it excitedly when they spoke. And it was so refreshing to hear about how he and Jessie had so maturely handled their separation when it came to their kids. Rhett had a new place close to their family home and the boys came to stay at least three nights a week, letting him spoil them absolutely rotten.

When he said that they’d ‘probably get take out and let them stay up’, Shelley knew Rhett really meant that they would get a large pizza each, chicken wings, gallon sized buckets of Coke and that he’d let them stay up until 3am because they were on sugar rush from all the gummy worms he’d practically shoved down their throats.

Shelley had seen the pictures from last time.

 _“HE’S COMING HERE?! NEXT MONTH?!”_ Sina shrieked when Shelley told her the news.

“Yeah! How amazing is that?”

 _“He really must be crazy about you!”_ Shelley couldn’t resist breaking out into a wide grin as Sina spoke.

“He must do, right? Like, he wouldn’t come here if he wasn’t, right?”

_“You have to ask?! Shell, he is literally flying across the world! Just to see you! He must love you, why else-”_

“Wait, what?” Shelley interrupted, stunned.

_“What?”_

“Love?”

_“Yeah…?”_

A small silence ensued. Shelley lay on her bed in something of a daze as the thought came over her. Rhett didn’t love her, did he? He hadn’t said that he did…they certainly hadn’t had that conversation. They’d only actually _seen_ each other for five days a month earlier. But then, surely he wouldn’t travel all that way just for a fuck? He was absolutely gorgeous, and he lived in Los Angeles; he would have his pick of stunning women. He must-

_“He must love you!”_

“But…he hasn’t said that he does.”

_“Uh, him telling you that he’s flying like ten hours to see you was him telling you that he loves you.”_

“So, why not just say it?” Shelley mused, trying still to convince herself that they were being silly.

_“Because he wants to tell you in person and not over the phone! Duh!”_

“Oh.”

_“What’s wrong? You love him too, right?”_


	4. Biscuits

_“How long ‘til you get there then?”_

“Only an hour or so.”

_“And then how long do you have to wait?”_

“Hopefully not too long! He lands about an hour before the coach is due to get in but obviously he’ll have to go through crazy strict passport control – he said that when he came here last time, it took like two hours after he landed to actually get out of the airport!”

_“Jesus, really?”_

“Not an EU citizen so apparently yeah it takes literally forever. I’ll probably go get a coffee and something to eat while I wait.”

_“Yeah, good plan. Well, feel free to give me a call if you get bored!”_

When Shelley arrived at Heathrow, she assumed that she had a good hour or so before Rhett would be out so she didn’t rush to grab a coffee. Instead, she headed over to the smoking area, took a seat and lit up a cigarette. She was so damn excited to see him that, in a way, she was glad she had an hour before he came out. At least it would give her a chance to pull herself together and calm herself and-

“Smoking is so bad for your health, you know.”

“Oh my God!” Shelley squealed as she spun around to find Rhett standing behind her, a wide grin on his face. She threw her arms around him as he engulfed her in a bear hug, something incredibly comforting about the fact that her face only barely nestled in his chest. He was so broad too and-

“I’d forgotten just how massive you are,” Shelley murmured as she cuddled into him, not ready to let him go, “I’ve missed how tiny you make me feel.”

“Yeah?” Rhett grinned as he broke away just slightly so he could look into her eyes, “I’ve missed you, too.”

“I thought I had a solid hour until you arrived! How did-”

“Flight was early. And, as much as I want to take you to that hotel over there, I am starving. Do you think I can get a biscuit around here?”

“Well…yeah, of course you can get biscuits here,” Shelley frowned, confused, “Uh, they do good ones in Costa if you wanna go there? I could do with a coffee.”

“Sure, let’s go,” Rhett took her hand and they went into the terminal, heading over to the coffee shop.

“Right, you must be exhausted, why don’t you go sit down and I’ll order. What kind of biscuit do you want?”

“Uh, whatever, I don’t mind. Can you get me an Americano, too?”

Shelley went up to order, getting both of them a chocolate chip cookie and their coffees.

“Uh, babe, I wanted a biscuit,” Rhett laughed and they both blinked at each other in confusion.

“Yeah?”

“This is a cookie.”

“Yes…?” The pair of them just looked at the other as if they were stupid.

“This is not a biscuit.”

“It’s a _type_ of bis-” Shelley cut herself off as she started to protest, “Ohhhh, you mean those weird scone things you guys have?”

“What?”

“Yeah, we don’t have those here. I can probably get you a scone. But we eat those with cream and jam.”

“You eat them with…wow,” Rhett laughed, shaking his head, “I’m gonna go get a sandwich.”

Despite the temptation to book into one of the airport hotels, Rhett was quite exhausted after an eleven hour flight so he went and rented a car before they set off on the drive to Wales. They chatted incessantly the entire way and, truthfully, Shelley couldn’t stop staring at him. He looked entirely dishevelled but he was the type of guy who oddly suited the unkempt look.

“Do you mind if I call Shep and Locke? I always call to say I landed safely,” Rhett asked as they got onto the motorway.

“No, go ahead.”

Rhett gave Shelley’s thigh a squeeze before he pulled out his phone and called Locke’s mobile, putting the phone on speaker as he drove.

 _“Hi Dad!”_ The boys chorused in unison as they answered the phone. They must have been waiting for the call together – how cute?!

“Hey guys! I’m just checking in – I landed safe and sound in London. No terrorists and no technical faults!”

_“You didn’t even get frisked?”_

“Not every trip is like the time we went to Australia, guys!”

Hearing Rhett speak to his boys was so incredibly attractive. Hearing the love and pride he had for them only served to make him _even sexier_ and make Shelley even more annoyed that it was still a solid two hours before they would arrive at her place.

“Sorry, they just get worried when I take an international flight.”

“You don’t need to apologise!” Rhett turned to flash her a smile, sliding his hand over to squeeze her thigh again, “What you do need to do, though, is tell me what on Earth happened when you went to Australia.”

When they finally arrived at Shelley’s place and walked up the three flights of stairs, Rhett looked absolutely shattered. They put his suitcase in the living room and he all but collapsed on the black leather sofa as she went into the kitchen. It really was quite impressive how he made a two seater sofa look more like an armchair.

“Coffee? Do you want anything to eat? I have lasagne, curry, pizza…I can make you a sandwich? Or I have crisps, chocolate? I can make pasta, maybe? What do you-” Shelley cut herself off when she popped her head around into the living room to see Rhett fast asleep on the sofa. Given the sheer size of him, there was no possible way he could sleep soundly on that sofa without incurring some pretty severe muscle pain.

And she needed him fighting fit for what she had planned for him.

As she sat on the arm rest, she couldn’t resist taking a moment to run her fingers through his hair and pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

“Hi,” He mumbled as his eyes fluttered back open.

“You fell asleep, sweetie. Why don’t you go to my bed? The sofa is way too small for you,” Shelley murmured, giggling as Rhett pulled her down onto his lap. He tenderly cupped her face as he kissed her softly.

“Rhett?” She asked as she broke away from their kiss just slightly.

“Mmm?”

“You should go to bed.”

“But-”

“Sweetie, you can’t even open your eyes.”

After Shelley took Rhett to bed, she went back out to the living room and checked her phone, seeing that she had a couple of messages from Sina. Grabbing a packet of cigarettes, she hopped up onto the bay window ledge and cracked open the window as she lit one up.

_“Why aren’t you in bed with Rhett?”_

“Well, hello to you too!” Shelley laughed as Sina picked up.

_“Yes, yes, hello. Now, why aren’t you in bed with Rhett?!”_

“Because he’s really jetlagged and absolutely exhausted.”

_“Ah fair. So, he’s asleep?”_

“Yeah, bless him, he literally zonked out the second we got home. God, he looks so sweet as he sleeps, he looks so peaceful and-”

 _“-and when are you telling him how much you love him?”_ Shelley couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Sina’s question.

“I’m not going to.”

_“Why?”_

“Because! What if I say it and he doesn’t say it back? And then what if he then thinks I’m really desperate and clingy and flies straight back home and I never hear from him again?”

_“HE FLEW HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD TO SEE YOU!”_

“But-”

_“Shell, he loves you. Do you really think that I would try and convince you that he did if I wasn’t completely sure of it?”_

After finishing the call with Sina, Shelley decided to make dinner; after all, plane food was notoriously awful and he was bound to be starving once he (eventually) woke up. She spent a few moments browsing classic Southern American dishes before starting to work. It was such a weird style of cooking; lots of lard, carbs and like no fruit and vegetables whatsoever.

Unless you counted the lime zest in the double cream, cream cheese mixture she was whipping.

But damn, it all smelt incredible.

“Is that chilli?” Rhett asked as he came out of the bedroom wearing just a pair of boxers.

Jesus, he had legs for days.

“Uh no, not just chilli,” Shelley said, gesturing to the dough resting on the counter.

“ _Cornbread chilli?!_ ” Rhett gasped, making her laugh, “And…are those biscuits in the oven?”

“Hey, you’re in the UK, now. They are savoury scones. And they’ll be served with a sausage white sauce.”

“Gravy?”

“I dunno what it is, but that shit ain’t gravy.”

“Well, regardless, this is very sweet,” Rhett wrapped his arms around her from behind, brushing her hair away so he could lean down and kiss the back of her neck while his hands wandered-

“As much as I want you, I also really don’t wanna burn this chilli I’ve been working on for nearly two hours,” Shelley laughed, “Besides, I need you to have plenty of energy before I jump you.”

After they ate, Rhett went to take a shower and Shelley lay on the sofa, scrolling through her phone. There was of course the temptation to join him but, given that it had been nearly twenty four hours since he left his home in California, he was in real need of a long, hot, cleansing, peaceful shower. Naturally, she got caught going down her usual rabbit hole of watching randomly suggested videos on Youtube. The algorithm had pinned down her preferences annoyingly accurately and she scrolled through clips of baking, Friends, Eastenders and music videos along with more random comedy videos.

Then a video started playing of…Rhett?

 _“Bada, ba, ba, ba. J’adore ça!”_ A guy with glasses and perfectly coiffed hair sang the McDonald’s theme tune in French.

 _“Let’s talk about that,”_ Rhett grinned at the camera before the theme tune started and Shelley just stared at her phone screen, quite bewildered.

 _“Good Mythical Morning,”_ Rhett started before the guy next to him started talking but Shelley just zoned out at that point. What the fuck was this? The video had been posted by the official Facebook page so she went onto it.

180 thousand likes?!

She clicked onto the official Youtube channel.

_SEVENTEEN MILLION SUBSCRIBERS?!_

Shelley knew enough about Youtube to know that that was really an extraordinary number of subscribers. One of her favourite Youtubers, Saffron Barker, only had 2.2 million subscribers and was well known enough to be on Strictly Come Dancing, for crying out loud. With _17 million?_ Rhett must be…

Well. Pretty damn fucking famous.

“What the actual fuck?” Shelley murmured in disbelief as she scrolled through. They had this main channel, vlogs, music videos…they had even released a _book_!

“Hey, is there any of that pie left?” Rhett asked as he walked back into the living room wearing just a pair of jeans.

“You were on _The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon_?!” Shelley cried out, incredulous. Rhett stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes wide as he sighed and sat on the sofa beside her.

“You found the channel then, huh?”

“Um, try like…what? Five channels and what, like _two thousand_ videos?!”

“Probably more like three thousand,” Rhett mumbled before catching the look on Shelley’s face, “Sorry, not the important thing.”

“We’ve spoken like three times a day for the past two months and you never thought to bring up the fact that you’re fucking famous?!”

“Well, I didn’t think it was important,” Rhett shrugged, clearly avoiding her eye.

“You didn’t think it was important?!” Shelley screeched as she jumped to her feet, “I can’t believe I’ve fallen in love with a guy who couldn’t even tell me what he does for a living!”

A sharp silence descended on them as Shelley realised what she had said and Rhett looked up at her, the disbelief now firmly plastered on his face.

“You love me?” He asked, blinking.

“No, I always talk to guys I have no feelings for for hours on end every single god damn day and host them at my place!” She shouted, frustrated at the stupid question, “Don’t you love me?”

Shelley expected him to shout it at her like she had to him but instead she was just greeted with silence and a bewildered face.

“Oh, just forget it,” She muttered, grabbing her cigarettes from the dining table and storming outside.

_“Hey! How are-”_

“YOU ARE A FUCKING IDIOT!”

_“Uh, excuse me?”_

“I…” Shelley stopped herself to sniff, looking up and blinking hard to try and keep the tears at bay, “I told Rhett that I love him and he just went _‘you love me?’_ and then he just looked at me like I was fucking stupid!”

_“What a dick!”_

“Well, I never would have said it if it wasn’t for you! And-”

“Hang up the phone,” Rhett said behind her, making her jump before she turned to scowl at him. Taking her off guard, he grabbed her phone and hung it up.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? You can’t just reject me and then swan around, throwing your weight about!” Shelley shouted, resisting the urge to smack him clean across the face, especially as she saw the frustrated look scored across his face.

“I did not!” Rhett shouted back before remembering himself and taking a deep breath, “Can we just go inside? _Please_?” With a defeated sigh, Shelley allowed Rhett to take her hand and lead her back upstairs. She threw her packet of cigarettes down onto the table and poured herself a glass of water. Not that she particularly wanted one, she just wanted an excuse to turn her back on him.

“What are you even still doing here?” She bit out, watching as he swallowed hard and took a seat at the dining table, “Clearly you feel absolutely nothing for me so why don’t you just fuck off back to the good ol’ U S of A?”

“Feel absolutely nothing?” Rhett scoffed, shaking his head, “I want to be very clear about this. I left my home at 12 noon yesterday. I hung around the airport until my flight at 4pm. I then landed here _eleven hours later_ at 11am in the morning. I then hung out at the airport for like an hour and drove us for four hours – despite the fact that I could barely keep my eyes open – getting here at nearly 5pm, when I promptly fell asleep. Now, do you really think there is any chance that I would travel halfway around the world and go more than twenty four hours without any sleep for someone I don’t care about?”

Shelley just blinked, suddenly feeling really quite ridiculous and like she was being put in her place by her father.

“But-”

“This is something that you do not understand. I was with Jessie for very nearly as long as you’ve been alive,” She didn’t want to look at him, but his stare was too compelling to look away from, “She was the first and only woman I have ever said those words to. Do you think it’s easy for me to say them to someone else? It’s not, ok?” This was by far the sternest he had ever spoken to her, the first time he commanded her attention because she was almost scared he might start shouting at her.

Maybe ‘scared’ was too harsh a term. The very tone of his words implored her to pay attention, to not look away.

“Listen to me,” Rhett’s voice was softer now as he knelt in front of her and somehow her still towered above her, “I do. Ok? I do,” Did her heart stop? “I just can’t say it,” She sighed as she felt her heart sink a little.

“Right. Well, I-”

“Hey,” He murmured, cupping her face in his hands, “I will.”

When they kissed, Rhett barely let it linger before he effortlessly picked her up, bringing her over to the sofa. Their lips left each other’s only so he could yank off her shirt.

Shelley’s jeans were gone in the blink of an eye and she didn’t even register her bra being flung across the room. In fact, she barely registered anything at all, her mind completely clouded by the sensation of his lips sucking on her tight nipples.

“Oh!” She cried out, clinging to him as she sank down onto his thick cock.

Ok, _that_ she registered.

She buried her face into his neck as she rocked on him for just a moment, grinding down as he moaned into her ear. He spent a moment hugging her to him, his hands stroking her back before they skimmed down, grabbing her ass as he started to guide her.

Just as she did when they met in London, she got the hint of him wanting to take control, but restraining himself.

How could she bring that out in-

“ _Fuck!_ ” Shelley cried out, digging her nails into Rhett’s shoulder blades as he thrusted unexpectedly and she looked up, seeing the small smirk and his slight eyebrow raise. He grabbed her ass more forcefully this time and thrusted up hard, starting to fuck her, his height making it easy.

Unsurprisingly, he wasn’t about to last very long and she was actually rather relieved.

Because fuck, neither was she and she wasn’t in any mood to edge herself.

“Damn,” Rhett groaned as he stretched therapeutically on the sofa, wrapping an arm around Shelley as she yawned and cuddled into him, neither of them in any mood to get up and take a shower.

“My sofa is gonna be all sticky,” She laughed while yawning and he kissed the top of her head affectionately.

“Do you care?”

“Not really.”

They relaxed in silence for a moment, both of them with their eyes closed and fighting the urge to fall asleep.

That was, until Shelley remembered-

“Rhett?”

“Mmm?”

“You still haven’t told me why you didn’t tell me about Good Mythical Morning.”


	5. Encapsulating

“Good morning,” Shelley looked up at Rhett as he slowly awoke from his deep slumber. She had been awake for a solid two hours now, having made herself a coffee and toast before she had quickly crawled right back into bed, cuddling up to him and just revelling in his presence as she waited for him.

The night before was definitely one that would be etched into her brain for a long time to come. From their argument and Rhett’s explanation to their long, _long_ night of passionate love making, sex, fucking…call it what you will, it was incredible.

One might think that after twenty years of marriage, Rhett’s style might be a little stale. A bit stilted. Maybe just not all that about it anymore.

That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Rhett’s tall, broad frame coupled with his confident, positive nature gave him an air of natural, soft dominance.

He was rough when he needed to be, gentle when she needed him to be and always passionate, thoughtful and, most importantly? He made it _easy._ He made her feel comfortable and just made the entire experience relaxed, like there was nothing to be concerned with because he was quietly in charge.

He would take care of her.

Rhett encapsulated everything she loved about older men and now she was completely infatuated.

No, she was in love.

“Good morning,” He murmured as he ran his fingers through her hair, his eyes still shut, “What time is it?”

“It’s nearly midday,” She said quietly as she traced random patterns on his chest, “I must have really worn you out last night, huh?”

“I haven’t had a night like that since I was in my early twenties,” Rhett laughed, leaning down to kiss the top of her head.

“You mean you’ve had a night like that before? I better step up my game tonight then.”

“Tonight? Make it this morning.”

Giggling, Shelley trailed a hand down, wrapping her hand around his thick – and _damn_ , was it thick – cock, starting to stroke when-

“What the fuck is that?” By the time Shelley had finished the question, Rhett had already leapt out of the bed and was yanking on a pair of jeans. There was some crazy person pounding at the front door, threatening to break it down.

Boy, was she glad Rhett was here.

“You stay there.” Rhett turned to glance at her briefly, but sternly.

Yeah, as if she was going to face an axe murderer-

“THERE YOU ARE!” Sina shrieked as she stormed into the bedroom, “ARE YOU OK?!”

“Well…I’m naked and Rhett has his jeans on back to front. So, no, I’m not ok, I just had morning sex interrupted,” Shelley frowned, confused at the sight of his friend suddenly appearing in front of her, “More to the point, what on Earth are you doing here?”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT AM I DOING HERE? YOU HUNG UP ON ME AND YOUR PHONE’S DEAD AND I’VE BEEN TEXTING AND PHONING AND TEXTING AND PHONING AGAIN AND I THOUGHT RHETT HAD LEFT AND YOU’D DONE SOMETHING STUPID AND I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT BE HURT OR DEAD!” The three of them all stared at each other, bewildered.

“What the fuck are you talking about?!” Shelley shouted back as she wrapped the sheet tighter around her.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG-”

“OK!” Rhett bellowed, stopping Sina dead in her tracks, “You!” He pointed at her, “Out in the living room. And you!” He turned to Shelley, “You have thirty seconds to get dressed and get out there so we can sort this out.” The girls did as he said and Shelley got dressed in record time before going back into the living room to see Sina sat on the sofa, her arms crossed.

“It turns out that by me hanging up your phone before proceeding to seduce and engage you in…activities all night…Sina was very, _very_ worried about you and came here to check you were ok,” Rhett looked up at her, entirely sheepish and awkward.

While a feeling of cold realisation came down over Shelley.

“Oh, _fuck_!” She gasped, realising what had happened.

“Uh, yeah,” Sina muttered.

“It was entirely my fault,” Shelley knew that Rhett didn’t really believe that and was just finding a way to dissolve the tension and take the blame off her shoulders (what a _babe_ ), “Why don’t I take us out for lunch? You guys can catch up and I can sit there silently while you both talk about me like I’m not there!”

“That might help,” Sina crossed her arms, pretending to still be royally pissed out.

But Shelley didn’t miss the small smile on her lips.

Shelley was lucky enough to live right opposite several restaurants and, as they stepped into the Italian, she realised that part of the motivation behind Rhett offering to pay for dinner was because – surprise, surprise – he was starving.

“Are you still pissed? I would be,” Shelley asked as they went up to the bar to get some drinks as Rhett took the opportunity to quickly Facetime his sons.

“I’m just glad you’re ok, you scared me! _But_ , Rhett is buying lunch so I can’t be too mad,” Sina took a sip of her drink, “So. Did you guys have fun last night while I was worried sick?”

“Um, have you _seen_ him? Of course we had a good time!”

“So, what happened?! The last I heard, you said I love you and he didn’t say it back so…what changed? Did he say it?!” At Sina’s question, Shelley couldn’t hide her smile at the memory.

“No. Well. Not exactly, anyway. He explained that he _does_ but he can’t say it.”

“Uh, why?” Sina asked, clearly sceptical.

“He was with his ex-wife for nearly as long as I’ve been alive and he’s only said _those words_ to her so it’s just difficult for him to say.”

“Ah, that makes sense, actually,” Sina nodded.

“It is so weird seeing kids drinking,” Rhett came up behind them to order a beer.

“Kids?” The girls frowned at him as he nodded towards a group of girls with cocktails in their hands. One of them was wearing an obnoxiously large badge and sash with ‘HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY’ plastered across it.

“Yeah, it’s weird.”

“They’re 18?”

“I know!” Rhett shook his head disapprovingly and they headed back to their table.

“What’s the problem with 18 year olds drinking?” Sina asked.

“Yeah, I know the legal age is 21 in the States but 18 year olds _are_ adults,” Shelley agreed.

“They may be _legally_ adults. But 18 year olds are still kids – a lot of them are still in high school, right? They have no idea about the real world and can’t be trusted to consume a mind altering substance,” Rhett said it as though it was obvious while the girls just looked at him, frowning, confused.

“Y’know, sometimes I think you’re liberal and then the fact that you’re American comes screaming back to me,” Shelley smirked, shaking her head.

“Seriously though, I would be pissed if I caught Shep and Locke drinking when they’re 18,” Rhett shrugged.

“How old are your kids?” Sina asked, intrigued.

“Shep is 11 and Locke is 16.”

“So, you would be pissed if you caught Locke having a beer?” Sina frowned, looking almost disbelieving.

“Heck, yeah! He’s not getting no beer! He’s a baby! He’s a sophomore in high school, are you joking?!”

“Was it just me whose parents bought them alcopops when they were 14?”

“What are alcopops?” Rhett asked with a confused frown, an eyebrow raised.

“They’re basically like preprepared cocktails. They’re usually only 3-4% alcohol and taste like juice,” Shelley shrugged while Rhett just stared at her, stunned.

“Your Mom and Dad would _buy those for you_ when you were 14?!”

“Yeah. I’d drink them in the house with them on like a Friday or Saturday night. They have a really sophisticated music system and we’d play music and have a drink,” Shelley shrugged, “Or maybe when my friends would come over and we’d have a sleepover.”

“You don’t drink, though.”

“Yeah, weird, isn’t it?”

After they ate and Rhett paid, the three of them headed back over to Shelley’s apartment block.

“I’m going to call my mum to let her know everything’s ok. I’ll be up in a minute, ok?”

“Ok, that’s fine, I’ll leave the door on the latch,” Sina stayed outside, taking a seat on the grass as Shelley and Rhett went inside.

As soon as the door shut behind him, Rhett to go sit in the living room but Shelley didn’t let go of his hand, pulling him back.

“Where do you think you’re going?” She teased as he grinned and, with his hands on her waist, he leaned down to press a small kiss to her lips.

“She’ll be back up here in a second,” Rhett murmured against her lips.

“No, she won’t. Her calls with her mum can last for hours and hours.”

“Well, in that case…” With a kiss, he led her into their bedroom when their session was so rudely interrupted earlier.

Shelley lay down on the bed, her giggling cut off with a gasp as Rhett yanked off her jeans and took out his cock, not even bothering to take off any of his clothes or even her shirt.

“Rhett!” She laughed as he kissed her neck while grinding his rock hard cock against her, scratching her with his beard, “I told you we’ve got ages!”

“I heard you,” He muttered, “but I’m not willing to risk getting interrupted again.”

As _if_ she was going to protest.

“Fuck…that’s it,” Shelley groaned as he thrust inside her and paused just for a moment to indulge in the sensation, kissing her deeply. As he broke away to grip her thighs, spreading her wide, she took the opportunity to peel off his and then her t-shirt so she could feel him against her properly.

Rhett wasn’t much of a talker in bed. He didn’t call her names and he wasn’t one for swearing, anyway. But what he did do was groan and moan and growl.

And it was the sexiest thing she had ever heard.

When he was on top when he fucked her, he _absolutely dwarfed_ her. While it was his legs that gave him most of his height, his torso was still significantly bigger than her and there did admittedly have to be a significant amount of hunching involved so that they could kiss.

It was pretty fucking hot, actually.

As Rhett thrust inside her, Shelley wrapped her legs around him, forcing him to go deeper.

“Jesus Christ…”

When they were finished and reluctantly got redressed and fixed their clothes and hair, they headed back out into the living room, satisfied that they had done it before Sina had-

“Did you two have fun?” Sina smirked as they came out, clearly struggling to contain her laughter.

“Oh, dang it!” Rhett burst out laughing, head in his hands.


End file.
